Unexpected
by destined4greatness
Summary: It's Tristan's 27th birthday and he has an encounter with a certian brunette we all know and love during a bank heist.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Unexpected

Rating: T

Pairing: Trory

Summary: It's Tristan's 27th birthday and he has an encounter with a certain brunette we all know and love during a bank robbery.

Disclaimer: Gilmore Girls and its characters sadly do not belong to me.

A/N: This is my first fanfiction ever, so tell me what you think. The good the bad and the ugly tell me if I should continue or just quit while I'm ahead. lol

Tristan Dugrey stood in line at the bank, not so patiently waiting his turn. 'Figures that today of all days would be the busiest'. It was his 27th birthday- and he was running late. Looking around, he tried to pass the time by making up stories about the lives of the people surrounding him. The woman in front of her was frantically dialing her cell phone, muttering under her breath about her kids waiting to be picked up. 'Single mother', he thought, 'with an unreliable ex-husband who can't keep promises'. The kid behind him was gazing off into another world, probably dreaming about the used car he would buy with the money from his summer job. Tristan smiled; sometimes he wished he could have had that dream the dream of buying something with hard-earned money. Glanced at the guy standing next to him. 'Now there is a character' he thought. The guy was sweating bullets-no surprise there, he was wearing a long leather jacket in the middle of the summer, but he was nervously glancing around and muttering something Tristan couldn't quite understand. Shrugging, Tristan stepped up for his turn at the teller.

After completing his transaction, he gave the teller a grin and told her to have a nice day. As he walked toward the exit door, he stopped to open his phone and scroll down to his sister's number; she was taking him out for his birthday and he was going to be late. If he had known those few seconds would change his plans for the day, he would have waiting until he was outside. From behind him were a shout and a scream; the man in the leather coat was waving a gun and screaming.

"Everyone against the wall. Now!"

Glancing around, Tristan saw that the half door that lead to the teller's desk was open and he quickly lunged behind it, hiding himself from the view of the burglar.

It had been an hour, and Tristan was beginning to wonder if the police were ever going to do anything. The phone kept ringing, but though the burglar would walk toward it agitatedly he wouldn't answer it. Looking through the glass windows he saw a woman walking through the door nonchalantly. 'Stupid woman' Tristan thought; she didn't even have on a bulletproof vest. 'You'd think they'd have more sense than to send in a rookie cop instead of waiting for the professional negotiators to get here.' He shook his head in disgust. 'Something about her looks familiar though, where have I seen her before?' he wondered and listened as the woman got the attention of the man who held them all hostage.

"Hey what do you think you're doing?"

" My boss wants to know why you won't answer his calls-he thinks it'skind of rude."

"Well you can tell your boss that I ain't letting' nobody go until they get me a limo to the airport and a first class ticket to Mexico."

"Do you mind if I wait here a bit? He'll chew me out if I come out to soon. He thinks I don't put enough effort into my job"

Tristan chuckled along with the gunman. ' So she is a negotiator.' He doubted that the calmness in her voice was false. She sounded sincere and utterly bored.

"What's your name?" she asked the gunman.

"Randy Ashmore, what's yours?"

"Rory Gilmore."

A/N: Tell me what you think. should i continue, should i not? r/r


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

A/N: THANK YOU so much to all who reviewed. It really encouraged me to continue. Tell me what you think of this chapter !

45 minutes later, Tristan still sat in utter shock. Of all the gin joints in all the world… 'Well that explains the familiarity' he thought, shaking his head in wonder. As he sat and listened to her conversation with Randy, the gunman, he wondered what had made her pursue this career over journalism.

"What is your favorite thing about living in Raleigh?" she asked.

"My family." Randy answered quietly. "That's why I'm here."

"What do you mean?"

"My son, he has leukemia- has had it for three years. We've done everything we can to pay the doctors bills; we've taken out loans, and I work three jobs, but somehow we never seem to have enough. And now yesterday we got a notice in the mail saying if we didn't make a minimum payment of $4,000.00 by next week then they are going to take away everything: our house, cars and my business."

Rory could feel his anger rising as he paced back and forth. She racked her brain for a way to calm him down as he ranted and raged on.

"What more could I possibly do? How much can one man take until he breaks? So guess what? I'm not leaving here until the bank does something. I don't care how long it takes, who they have to fly in from where, or if they have to get the president of the bank himself. I'm not leaving and neither are any of you."

Just then the phone rang again. Randy looked over at it in irritation.

"Why don't you answer it?" Rory asked, " they might have found help."

He walked over to the phone and picked it up.

"What?"

"No, that's not good enough! No! I won't let anyone go. Not until they listen to me! I don't care if he's in China. If he's the only one who can make that call then get him here NOW!" And he slammed the phone down.

Tristan flinched as the phone right above his head was slammed so hard he thought it was gonna fall over onto his head. 'Yikes' he thought. Seconds later, his phone in his pocket started vibrating in his pocket. He flipped it open and saw a text message from his sister asking where he was. He quickly typed a reply explaining the situation and she soon answered telling him that she was on her way over to the bank to wait for him outside. Switching his phone to silent, he returned his attention to the negotiation where Rory had Randy almost convinced to let them go.

"Can I ask you a question?"

" Can I say no?" he answered irritably.

"Not really." Rory said with a small smile.

"Didn't think so."

"If you came here to get and extension on your loans and to do something about your foreclosure, why did you ask for a plane ticket to Mexico and a limo to the airport?"

"Seemed like a good idea at the time," he said, " the president of the bank is in Mexico somewhere on vacation, and I guess I figured I'd go down there and give him a piece of my mind or something…."

"I'll be honest, Randy, I've never been in your situation before. But what I do know is that this current situation will not be beneficial to you, your family or your son. And, I would be willing to be that we could work something out with the bank if you calm down and release the hostages. After all, it's not their fault, you know? How would your son feel if he knew you were endangering other people's lives to try to save his?"

'She's so good' Tristan thought ' how does she stay so calm?' 'Amazing'

Randy slowly lowered the gun he had been waving as he paced and began to cry softly, muttering something that Rory couldn't understand.

One by one, Rory rushed the hostages out the front door of the bank to safety. She saw a tall blonde man come from behind the teller's counter towards her. 'Smart guy' she thought. ' But I feel like I know him from somewhere…huh. Beats me.' But as the blonde walked by her he squeezed her elbow and whispered, "Nice job, Mary."

She was about to say thanks when it registered in her mind what he had said. Her head whipped around only to find a crowd of policemen and EMT's coming toward the doors to get the rest of the hostages and arrest the gunman. She stood stock-still as they rushed through the doors and past her. She lost sight of the familiar head of blonde hair she hadn't seen or even thought of in years.

'Could it be?' she thought ' Surely not. Why would Tristan Dugrey still be in North Carolina after all these years? Must have been a coincidence right?'

But as she walked out of the building into the harsh sunlight she doubted ever her own thoughts, for when she reached into her pocket for her keys she found a white business card that read:

Tristan Dugrey

Attorney- at- Law

In bold black letters. She flipped over the card, and on the back he had written. Had written a number and a short message. **_Long time no see, Mary. Call me and we'll catch up. T_**

'Well,' Rory thought, 'So much for coincidences'


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: see chapter 1

A/N: sorry about the holdup- I've been super busy with work and school and my car broke down and well, it never rains but it pours, right? Enjoy!

Tristan sat in his office staring blankly at the wall; he couldn't believe the events of the previous day. 'I

wonder if she'll call me. I mean, we definitely weren't the best of friends in school, but people change.'

"Excuse me sir?"

His secretary snapped him out of his trance, "Yes, Kyla?"

"Sorry to interrupt but your 10:30 is here."

"Thank you, tell him I will be right with him"

As Kyla shut the door he glanced through the file that lay open on his desk. He was defending this man's brother in a domestic violence homicide case. 'Focus, Tristan, This is no time to get distracted.' he thought as he walked to the lobby to greet his client.

"Mr. Fox, good to see you again.

"Likewise, Mr. Dugrey"

"Please, have a seat and we will begin."

Before Tristan shut the door he said to his secretary, "Kyla, no calls unless it's and emergency"

"Yes, sir" She answered and resumed typing on her computer.

"Hey Gilmore!"

"Yeah?"

"Line 2. Sounds like your mom, but she said her name is Rock?"

Rory grinned as she picked up the phone

"Gilmore"

"Hey baby, what are you wearing?"

"Hi mom"

"Hey! How did you know it was me?"

"Hmm…let me think…maybe because you suck and disguising your voice and really, who else would ask me what I'm wearing?"

"Well, THAT number would increase if you went on a date occasionally."

"Right, and have you told Luke you love him yet?

"Well, you know… I will…sometime….but HEY! That's not the point we were talking about you"

"and"

"so?"

"and?"

"So?"

" and so I changed the subject."

" I saw you on the news."

"Oh yeah? How did I look?"

"Pretty hot by all standards, but you were nothing compared to the hostage that they interviewed about the hold up…Holy Toledo Batman! Was he gorgeous. He was blonde and blue eyed, and he had this deep sexy voice, boy I tell you what if I was 16 years younger and didn't love Luke…well, lets just say you'd have a new daddy."

Rory stopped hearing her mom after she said blonde…she had totally forgotten about seeing Tristan. She dug in her jacked pocket and studied the card again. She wondered what she had done to make fate play such a sick joke on her.

"Earth to Rory! Come in Rory! Houston we have a problem…no response. RORY!'

That finally jolted her out of her thoughts " Huh? What?"

" Where did you go mini-me? I called you like 5 times."

"Sorry, I was just thinking about yesterday, things I could have done differently."

"Oh, well, glad to know I'm on top of your priority list. Jeez. Just kidding. I let you get back to work. Call me later. Bye."

"Bye." Rory shook her head as she hung up. Her mother really did need to cut down on her caffeine intake.

She studied the card in her hand, there was nothing special about it- but it mocked her; she debated whether or not to call. 'what could it hurt?' She thought 'surely he's a different person than in high school. But is it worth it? He'll ask so many questions I don't want to answer. He'll want to know why I chose this career over journalism. He'll ask about my grandparents and everyone back in Hartford. Am I ready to face that kind of inquisition?'

She never got the chance to answer her own question, her phone rang, and it was dispatch- they needed her for another negotiation. ' well, I guess that answer's my question' she thought. She slipped the card in her wallet behind her picture of her mom. 'Later' she thought 'I'll call later'. And with that she was out the door.

A/N Tell me what you think! Why do YOU think Rory became a negotiator? I have a few ideas, but I'm open to suggestion! Let me know.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: see Ch 1 

Pairing: Trory

A/N: Well, here it is finally, the next chapter. Sorry about the delay, but my dad is having surgery tomorrow and will be in the hospital for the next 2 weeks so it's been crazy. Thank you to everyone who reviewed you really push me to be a better writer.

" Finally!" Rory thought as she walked through her apartment door later that night. It seemed like she hadn't been home in a week. In reality it had only been a couple of days, but still if felt like forever. She tossed her keys on the table next to the door and walked over to press play on her answering machine.

"You have 29 new messages"

"Wow" she said with a smile " ain't I popular"

She listened to the play as she searched her refrigerator for something edible. Most of the messages were from reporters trying to get stories and info about her cases that she had had that week. There were a couple from her mom and one from Lane, but the last one captured her full attention, as she froze still bent over looking in the fridge.

" Rory, its Paris. Tristan's mom told my mom that he was a hostage in a bank in

Raleigh. I figured you probably heard about it and wondered if you'd seen him. From what I hear his law firm is doing great since they moved from Chapel Hill to Raleigh. Anyway – you should look him up- it's not like you couldn't us a friend. OK- so now that I used up all of your recording tape I'm gonna stop babbling and hang up. Call me later, bye."

"Well," Rory thought, "Typical Paris; get right to the point without so much as a how are you doing. News sure does travel fast in Hartford these days."

She grimaced as she looked at what she was pretty certain was rice and some point in it's existence but was currently unrecognizable as food or anything remotely edible. Finally she gave in, picked up the phone and ordered a large pepperoni and mushroom pizza. She hung up the phone and went about doing some laundry while she waited for the pizza to arrive.

"Finally!" Tristan said as he wearily shut the door to his apartment. It had been a long all day meeting with Mr. Fox and he was exhausted. He hung his keys up on the hook by the door, pressed the play button on his answering machine and collapsed on the couch.

"You have 3 new messages"

" 3 messages in 14 hours, wow I need to get a life." He said aloud to himself.

The first and second messages were from his parents reminding him that he was expected in Hartford for His cousin's wedding next month.

'Yeah, OK' he thought 'like I would voluntarily subject myself to that kind of torture ever again.'

But it was the second message that made him shake his head in surprise and amusement.

" Hi, Tristan. It's Paris. Gellar. From Chilton? I was just calling to see how you were doing. You're mom told my mom who told me about the bank holdup thing, and I was calling to see how you were holding up and stuff. Did you know that Rory Gilmore lives in Raleigh too? You should call her or something- it's not like you actually have a life to keep you busy or anything from what I hear. But anyway, I hope you're doing good- and I'm glad you didn't get shot or anything. I'll hang up now. Oh! And happy birthday. Bye."

"Wow," Tristan said, " that was interesting." He shook is head as he hauled himself off the couch to see what he could find in the kitchen to make for dinner. He made a mental not to himself to have his secretary get Rory's number for him the next day.

Later that night, both fell into their respective beds, exhausted, weary and instantly fell asleep but both had similar thoughts as they drifted off…should I call her/him?

Rory was in the small cramped room that was the office of her and three other negotiators pacing back and forth trying to decide whether or not to call Tristan.

'Just do it' she told herself. 'Just pick up the phone and call-how hard can that be?'

She walked over to her desk, sat down and picked up the phone, dialing the number she had already memorized from staring at. Her hands were shaking slightly as the phone began to ring; she suddenly wished no one would answer and she could leave a message on his machine (A/N does anyone else do that, or is it just me?)

"Thank you for calling Dugrey & Sullivan, this is Kyla. How may I direct you're call?"

"Um, well," Rory stammered " I'm calling for Tristan Dugrey?"

'Jeez Rory' she thought 'get a grip already'

"I'm sorry ma'am, but Mr. Dugrey is in an important meeting with a client right now and he cannot be disturbed. Would you like to leave a message?"

"Yes" Rory replied " Just tell him Mary called." She left her cell number for him to call back and hung up the phone.

'There' she thought ' I did it.' As she ran out the door to answer another page she fleetingly wondered when he would call back

Tristan finally emerged from his meeting 2 ½ hours after Rory had called.

"Any messages, Kyla?"

"Yes sir" she replied "One from your mother- she said she'd call back, two from a Mr. Eaton regarding a case and a call from someone named Mary. She didn't leave her last name or say why she was calling, but she left her cell number. Oh! And I have that number you asked me for. Rory Gilmore- 252-321-2278."

Tristan's heart jumped when he heard her name. She had finally called and he had missed it. Oh well, he'd just have to call her back.

"Thank you Kyla. I'll be in my office if any more calls come in"

"OK."

" Thank you, and for future reference- should Mary or Rory call back no matter how busy I am put her through, OK?"

"certainly"

With that Tristan went back into his office, leaving Kyla to wonder who this Mary woman was, what she had to do with Rory and why her boss deemed them both so important to interrupt him at any time.

Meanwhile Tristan sat at his desk and quickly dialed Rory's cell number, swiveling around in his chair to look out his large picture window.

She picked up on the third ring.

"Gilmore"

"Mary"

"Oh. Tristan. Hi."

"Hi. It seems you called and I was unavailable- I'm returning your call."

"oh, well that's –good- OK. So, yeah, how are you?"

Tristan smiled at her flustered babbling. "I'm good and yourself?"

" Oh, good, you know busy and stuff; no sleep, but that's where Larry comes in handy."

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­

Tristan frowned at that " Larry being….?"

"My coffee maker, sorry! I just get so used to talking to my mom- I forget that everyone doesn't name all of their appliances.."

"Interesting" he said chuckling " What time does your shift end today?"

" Umm… a little under and hour barring another page."

" I was wondering if you'd like to meet me for coffee around 5? We could talk, catch up, what do you say?"

" Coffee?" she said gleefully " do you even need to ask that question? I would bathe naked in fire ants if it included coffee- OK well maybe not NAKED, but you get the picture."

" Indeed I do, a little too clearly I think." He said " There's a little coffee shop on Main St. ' Buzz Buzz Buzz' is that good?"

" Oh, I love that place. I go there all the time. That sounds great."

"Alright, good. So I'll see you there at 5?"

" Five it is"

"See you then Rory"

"Kay, bye Tristan"

And they hung up. Both feeling completely opposite emotions. Rory nervous and apprehensive because she knew "catching up" meant answering questions she didn't like answering. Tristan on the other hand was flying high on a happy cloud. He couldn't wait until five so he could see her again.

He looked at the clock 3:30 PM. 'The rest of the day is going to drag' he thought as he began reviewing the file for his nest meeting. Five o'clock couldn't come soon enough.

OK! So tell me what you think! Review review review! I promise in the next ch. They will meet and you will find out partially why Rory became a negotiator.

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	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Ok, so I am officially the worst updater on the planet. I am SOOOO sorry. I've had this chapter partially written for like 2 weeks and haven't had a chance to post it. When I say that my life is crazy that is no exaggeration. Lets just say my brother's getting married, all of my grandparents are staying at my house and relatives from Canada are here too…..plus school and work. Stressed is a relative word…anyway here's the next chapter…it's kinda short and different than I first planned, but I think like this way better. Tell me what you think. I have ideas for the next 2 chapters, so I'll TRY to post them ASAP. Y'all are awesome!

Tristan was at Buzz Buzz Buzz by 4:45 and sat at a table by the enormous picture window to wait anxiously. As he sat he began to think up all the excuses why she wouldn't come. There were a lot: she had another hostage situation, she had to give a statement, she was doing her laundry this evening, she came to her senses and realized he wasn't worth the effort, her mom called and said she couldn't…ok, well maybe the last two were stretching it a little bit, but still couldn't imagine that she would actually come.

As he sat back to watch out the window he picked up his coffee and sighed, 'I hope she comes' he thought.

10101010101010909010009990011010110101010

Rory was on her way to the coffee shop at 4:50. She had decided to walk, but was now regretting it- it gave her time to think about where she was going and who she was going to meet; it gave her time to second guess herself.

' What are you thinking, Rory? What could have possessed you to say yes? He's gonna be just like all the rest. He'll never understand why you gave up your dream. He'll never understand why you did what you had to do to protect the people that you love.'

She shook her head and turned around to go back home. She told herself that it was useless, there was no point. He'd probably pick up some scantily clad leggy blonde and forget all about her. At that thought her head snapped up " over my dead body' she thought and turned back around to march back to the coffee shop, not even willing to try to understand where that thought came from.

10101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010

Tristan was about to leave and go home when Rory burst through the front door breathing heavy and looking like she would kill anyone who tried to get in her way.

Tristan smiled as she found him with her eyes and saw her visibly relax as she walked over to his table.

" Where's the fire?" He asked with a grin.

"Nowhere. Sorry I'm late. Something came up" ' yeah, she thought, my sanity'

" That's ok, however I was about 30 seconds away from going home. I was sure I was being stood up"

Rory smiled at how accurate that statement would have been if she hadn't turned around and come back.

" Now who in their right mind would stand up the Tristan Dugrey?"

" No one" he said smugly.

" Enough with the chitchat, where's my coffee?"

Just as she said that the waiter came over and sat down two pots of coffee and two giant mugs. Tristan watched her eyes light up and close as she breathed in the heavenly scent that was her life source; he watched as she poured herself her first cup and gulped down a quarter of it in one gulp.

She sat back and smiled at him. " So, how's life?"

" Life sucks, but then it would be disappointing if it was any other way."

" Likewise. There's something I've been wondering for the past couple of days. But.."

Tristan leaned forward curiously, "What is it?"

Rory leaned in like wise, looked around to make sure no one was listening and whispered "If you're illiterate, would you benefit from alphabet soup?"

He was confused for a couple of seconds then threw back his head and laughed like he hadn't laughed in a long time. Rory chuckled along with him, but wondered about the surge of emotion in her stomach when she heard his laugh; it was full, deep and true- not a fake laugh or a courtesy laugh, but one that came from deep inside. She found that she liked knowing she could make him laugh like that…that too was another emotion that she didn't want to explore right now.

"So, how have you been, Rory? What brings you here of all places from Hartford?"

"It's a long story."

" I've got time"

"Well, it all started when I got my first job at the Hartford Gazette…."

01010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010101010

45 minutes later they were still sitting at the same table, Rory telling her story calmly and Tristan listening intently…." And that's how I ended up here." She said with a sigh.

"Wow. He said, that's quite a story, but it still didn't answer my main questions."

"Which were?"

" Why did you quit journalism to become a negotiator? I mean I understand that searching for your Grandfather's abductor brought you here to North Carolina, but that was years ago. What made you stay? To move here and make such a drastic career change?"

" Well, honestly I've always been amazed by this profession since I took a criminal justice course in college on a bet. It fascinated me enough that I graduated with a double major in journalism and Criminal Justice or Actuarial science. Believe it or not, the thinks that I learned came in very handy while I was a reporter, but after the abduction journalism held no interest for me anymore. I couldn't stand that fact that I was writing about what was happening instead of being a part of preventing what happened to my Grandfather from happening to some one else. He would have wanted it that way." She looked at her hands as she said that. When she looked back at Tristan that were tears behind her eyes. "I would have done anything and still would do anything to have been able to save my grandfather from those insane men, but it's too late for him. All I can do is to do my best and help others like him."

" I'm so sorry Rory," Tristan said. "I had no idea that was what happened. had heard that your Grandfather passed away, but I had no clue that it happened like that." He reached over and laid his hand on hers, absorbing her pain, and taking comfort in the fact that she didn't push it away.

She looked at his hand and decided it was time to move on. " Thank you, Tristan. I haven't told anyone that story, ever. I mean, the only other people that really know what happened are my mom, Luke and grandma. Even the cops who helped with the case don't know all the details. I guess it's been eating me alive holding it inside like that and I didn't ever realize it."

When she stood up and walked around the table he stood. She gave him a quick hug that equally shocked and pleased him and then asked, " Do you have any plans for the rest of the evening?"

" None that can't be changed" he murmured as he looked into her cloudy blue eyes that had been full of tears only moments before.

" Come on," she said, " there's something I want to show you."

They walked out of the coffee shop hand in hand toward their destination. The waiter that had been serving them watched them walk away wondering who they were, and what their story was- he'd heard bits and pieces of the conversation. He shrugged, took the $50.00 tip the guy had left and thought to himself ' I hope they come back again'.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: see chapter 1

Pairing: Trory

Au (obviously )

A/N: sorry about the delay, I am officially the world's worst updater.  hope it was worth the wait! R/R

xoxoxoxoxox

Rory led Tristan down the street at a leisurely pace- content to just be with him- no words necessary. When he put his arm around her shoulders to tug her closer she reveled in the peace that stole over her and snuggled deeper in to him.

"Rory?"

"Hmm?" she answered with a contented sigh.

" Where are we going?"

"Can you keep a secret" she said looking at him with a wicked gleam in her eye.

"Of course!"

" Good, so can I!" she said triumphantly.

Tristan chuckled, " OK Mrs. Smarty-pants. I was just wondering if it would have been more practical to bring my car."

" Fret not" She said " we're almost there.

" Sure." Tristan said sarcastically.

xoxoxoxoxoox

Suddenly Rory came to an abrupt halt. Tristan, who was lost in thought trying to figure out their destination, stopped a few steps ahead of her an looked back, confused."

" What

's up Mare?" He asked, his blue eyes filled with concern.

" I- well, nothing really, it 's just.. Hmm- I don't know" She stuttered.

"Well: Tristan said with a chuckle, " that certainly cleared things up."

Rory gave him a glare that was softened by a small smile and stepped forward. " You'll understand in a minute" she said cryptically.

A few moments later, she steered him into an art gallery that seemed to focus on photography. She walked through the maze of rooms and hallways as if she'd done it a million times before. He followed behind her wordlessly, taking in his surroundings. As he entered the last room down a very long hallway, he started to understand why she had been so hesitant; All around him were black and white photographs- some of the people he recognized, and some he didn't, but they all captured his attention individually and collectively.

Rory didn't say anything , she just watched him as he walked slowly around the room, looking at every single picture- pausing at some, laughing at others. He saw pictures of his high school classmates, his hometown, and what he could only assume was her hometown, her friends. When he came to a complete stow, Rory know he had seen it. She carefully watched him trying to gauge his reaction.

Tristan was dumfounded- he didn't know what to say. It was a collage of sorts ( A/N think of the Polaroid collage in White Oleander)- it took up an entire wall- and every single picture was of him, Rory or him and Rory. Pictures of times he wished he could go back and relive: her first day at Chilton, her struggling with her locker, trying to convince it to open,- he could practically hear her calling in Harold.. There were even pictures of him and her in Stars Hollow when they were practicing for Romeo and Juliet- and he thought Paris was consumed by her academic career that night. Every situation conceivable was photographed and hung on a wall in front of him for him to relive and in some cases regret. Every frame and picture was a different size, yet they fit together like a puzzle.

"Who took these?" he asked softly.

" Paris" She answered. " I'm surprised you didn't know about this gallery. Actually this room is a collection of her work and mine. I took photography my junior year at Chilton, and I was hooked.:

" I don't understand, how are they here?" He asked " Why not in a gallery somewhere in Hartford?"

"Because she wanted to be an unknown. In Hartford or really anywhere in Connecticut her name would be recognized as well as the people in the photos. She wanted her work to be appreciated, not blown off."

Tristan nodded his head in understanding- he knew that feeling all too well. Rory watched as he stepped closer to the wall looking at on of the pictures incredulously. " How did she talk this picture and we had absolutely no clue she was ever there?"

Rory chuckle "we were a little preoccupied"

It was a picture of them at Madeline's party. They were on the piano bench just about to kiss. The backlighting form the lamp gave a silhouette affect, and you could all but see the kiss take place, the look of longing, hesitation and wonder in their respective eyes.

" I'm surprised this is the first time I saw this picture." He said wryly, looking back at her.

Rory came up to stand beside him. " she told me that she had taken it as blackmail- to ruin and embarrass me. But you left before she could and there seemed no reason to go through all that trouble."

" She's really good." He said, looking at a picture of himself. Somehow she had captured the essence of that which he truly was in that photo. He was standing by his locker, surrounded by his buddies and a throng of girls, yet he gazed over- for what he was sure was only a split second- towards Rory at her locker with a look of longing and rejection.

" Yeah, she is." Rory said as she took his hand and led him over to a section of her photographs. She pointed to one near the top. It was a picture of Richard and Lorelai dancing goofy at her graduation party. " That was the last time I saw my grandfather alive," she said, " That dance was a bet- I bet my grandfather that he wouldn't get out there and do the macarena with my mom. Much to my surprise he did it. It was one of the happiest nights of my life. If you look closely you can see my grandmothers shocked and disapproving expression in the background."

Rory laughed softly " She said she'd never forgive him for acting so foolishly in public at a function that was celebrating the 'intelligence and ability' of the Gilmore line- but she didn't really mean it. You should have seen her the next day. That morning we got a call fr5om her saying she couldn't find him. At first it was kind of funny, I mean, how do you _lose_ a sixty-eight year old man. It took a minute for me and mom to realize that it wasn't a joke. He was nowhere to be found. There was no note, no real signs of a struggle or anything. What really shook her was that his studies , or really his files, were in shambles, strewn about everywhere; his laptop was missing, and the safe hung open behind the desk. She glanced over at Tristan "She was never quite the same after it was all over. Even now- she seems lost, wandering like an abandoned puppy. Do you want to know the worst part? There's nothing I can do- there's nothing anyone can do. She's the only one that can forgive herself, accept that what happened was not her fault and move on. But I don't think she knows how."

"Did they ever find who took him, Rory? Did they catch them?"

"No,' she replied, "they never did. They came so close, but then all of a sudden-nothing, case closed. It was weird. They said the trail went cold; I was too distraught to question them, or to suspect anything.

Tristan turned to Rory and gently pulled her into his arms, holding her in a comforting, undemanding embrace.

"Thank you, Rory. For sharing this with me." He whispered, pulling back to look into her eyes.

"It was noth-" Rory started to say but was cut off by Tristan's fingers on her mouth.

"Don't you dare say it was nothing because we both know that's not true. It's a huge something, Rory, and I'm honored that you trust me enough to share it with me."

Rory just nodded, unable to speak. Tristan was tempted to kiss here then and there, but she was much too emotional right now, so he fought the urge and kissed her forehead instead.

"C'mon," He said " Lets get my car and I'll take you home."

"OK." She said looking up at him, " Thanks for listening and understanding."

" No thanks required" Tristan said with a wink. He slung his arm around her and kissed her temple as they walked back through the gallery toward the door and the busy city streets. Once they were on the street he asked her "So, you got room for ice cream?"

Rory looked at him as if he had three heads, " Is Michael Jackson white?"

" Ask a stupid question, get a stupid answer, huh?" he said with a grin

"Absolutely." She replied. And with that they walked down the street toward the closest ice cream shop, with Rory thinking that she was glad she had turned around and met him, and Tristan thanking his lucky stars that he got a second chance.

TBC……

SOOOOOOOO…..what do you think? R/R! por favor!


	7. Author's note

Ok, so I know that its been…well months since I updated. Really sorry…just haven't had the time to sit down and actually type it out. I'm actually hitting a wall storyline wise do if anyone has and ideas feel free to make suggestions and such. Thanks.

Oh! And I'll try to have the next chapter up by the end of next week!


	8. author's note 2

Ok, so this is me hitting an figurative brick wall. i got nothing. i had a storyline mapped out...where did it go? no idea. so if anyone has any comments/ suggestions/ anything to give me i would be extremely appreciative. thanks again


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